Crime News
The Daily Signal reports on crime news with analysis and commentary on policies, crime rates, and policing debates.
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opinion
I Was a Crime Reporter in Maryland in the Early ’80s. I Never Heard of Teen Gang-Rape Parties
“Oh, I think everyone in the county remembers these parties,” Julie Swetnick says with a smile during her nationally televised interview. Um, not me, Julie. I had my first job as a reporter in Montgomery County, Maryland, at the time Swetnick claims Brett Kavanaugh and other teenage boys routinely were drugging and gang-raping girls at… -
opinion
Why a Florida Man’s 20-Year Sentence for Stealing Cigarettes Isn’t a Case for Criminal Justice Reform
Robert Spellman Jr. last week received a 20-year prison sentence after a jury convicted him on burglary and grand theft charges for stealing $600 worth of cigarettes from a Florida convenience store. It’s a sentence Spellman, of Pensacola, Florida, well deserves. Spellman’s sentence has become a national (and international) story in part because of robust… -
opinion
Twitter’s Initial Classification of ‘Illegal Alien,’ ‘Criminal Alien’ as Hateful Shows Social Media’s Censorship Potential
Twitter made headlines recently when it denied the Center for Immigration Studies, a nonpartisan group, the ability to promote four tweets that—according to Twitter—contained “hateful content.” What was that hateful content? The legally correct phrases “illegal alien” and “criminal alien.” To be clear, those who follow the Center for Immigration Studies on Twitter were able… -
news
New Batch of Strzok-Page Emails Suggests FBI Use of Unsecure Devices
Email messages between two FBI officials suggest widespread use of unsecure communications by the bureau, according to records obtained in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. Judicial Watch, a Washington-based nonpartisan government watchdog organization, announced Thursday that it received 47 pages of records from the Justice Department that show FBI officials used “unsecure devices” while… -
news
Evidence of Crimes Irrelevant to Impeaching Trump, a Texas Democrat Insists
High crimes and misdemeanors are irrelevant to whether President Donald Trump should be impeached by the House, despite the Constitution, a Texas lawmaker said. “The people who say, ‘What law did he break? What rule did he break?,’ they are perpetrating upon you a belief that is totally inaccurate,” Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, said Thursday… -
news
Twitter Rejects Ads Using the Words ‘Illegal Alien’ and ‘Criminal Alien,’ Calling That ‘Hate Speech’
Twitter rejected four tweets from a Washington-based immigration research center’s advertising campaign as “hate speech” Tuesday because they used the legal terms “illegal alien” and “criminal alien.” The rejected tweets by the Center for Immigration Studies, proposed for its Twitter Ads campaign to attract more followers, generally provided a statistic or factual statement and pressed… -
opinion
Newly Disclosed Strzok-Page Texts Shed New Light on ‘Media Leak Strategy’ at FBI, Justice
Peter Strzok has been fired from his job at the FBI, but the hits from his text messages to his former mistress, former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, just keep on coming. In the latest development, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., has written a letter to Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, disclosing that the latest documents… -
opinion
Bolton Is Right to Repudiate International Criminal Court’s Jurisdiction Over US Military, Government Officials
National security adviser John Bolton didn’t mince words in a speech on Monday as he outlined U.S. policy toward the International Criminal Court. In that speech, before the Federalist Society, Bolton said: The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens, and those of our allies, from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate… -
opinion
More on Criminal Justice Reform: A Response to Paul Mirengoff
Opposition to the criminal justice reform proposals that the Senate is now considering, which promise significant public safety gains, continues to miss the mark. Last week, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., wrote an editorial in The Wall Street Journal expressing his strong opposition to some modest sentencing reform proposals that have been offered by Sen. Chuck… -
news
University System Plans ‘Full Criminal Investigation’ After Confederate Statue Toppled
The University of North Carolina System is taking action after protesters toppled the statue of a Confederate soldier at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Monday night. “Campus leadership is in collaboration with campus police, who are pulling together a timeline of the events, reviewing video evidence, and conducting interviews that will… -
news
Illegal Immigrant Charged in Mollie Tibbetts’ Murder
The man charged with killing missing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts is an illegal immigrant, police said Tuesday. Police charged Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, with first-degree murder. The Los Angeles Times reported: “Rick Rahn, special agent in charge with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said … Rivera had been living in the area… -
opinion
Why It’s Not ‘Soft On Crime’ to Support Criminal Justice Reform
In a Wall Street Journal editorial last week, Sen. Tom Cotton offered tepid support for prison reform measures in the FIRST STEP Act, which the House passed in late May with overwhelming bipartisan support. The Arkansas Republican said the bill contains “some flaws,” but has “worthy goals.” The FIRST STEP Act is designed to enhance public safety… -
opinion
With Criminal Justice Bills Pending, Sen. Warren Wrongly Calls System ‘Racist’
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., was right to backpedal from her speech last week at Dillard University in New Orleans in which she said, “Our criminal justice system” is “racist … front to back.” But her clarifying remarks at a town hall meeting, following criticism from law enforcement officials in her home state and the U.S…. -
news
4 Unanswered Questions About the FBI and Justice Department After Peter Strzok’s Firing
The controversies surrounding the Justice Department and FBI won’t end with the firing of veteran agent Peter Strzok, known for his bombastic text messages targeting Donald Trump during the presidential campaign and the Hillary Clinton email scandal. Trump weighed in Monday on Twitter, noting Strzok was one of those on “a list of bad players”… -
news
FBI Fires Peter Strzok, Agent Who Vowed to ‘Stop’ a Trump Presidency
The FBI has fired Peter Strzok, the agent who in 2016 texted he would “stop” Donald Trump from becoming president and has since been under a cloud of suspicion of political bias in doing his job. The Washington Post first reported Monday on the firing of Strzok, who last month found himself on the hot seat… -
opinion
Fight Against Human Trafficking Begins in Our Own Neighborhoods
The 2018 Trafficking in Persons Report had a refreshing take on anti-trafficking strategy—one that emphasizes the role of communities in addressing sexual and labor exploitation. The report, released annually since 2001, ranks countries according to their compliance with minimum standards for eliminating trafficking in persons. Countries are ranked from best to worst in four categories: Tier… -
opinion
New Report Shows Government Gave DACA Protection to Thousands of Criminals
Historian Jacob Burckhardt once warned against being deceived by “terrible simplifiers.” If he hadn’t died in 1897, you might be tempted to think he was writing about defenders of President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The left consistently characterizes all DACA recipients as though they were innocent, law-abiding Phi Beta Kappa college… -
opinion
This Man Has Spent 26 Years Behind Bars for a Crime Someone Else Confessed To
“If it wasn’t for my artwork and God, there’s no way we’d be having this conversation right now.” I’m in Colorado on a three-way phone call with Valentino Dixon, inmate No. 91B1615 at New York’s Wende Correctional Facility, and his 27-year-old daughter, Tina Dixon, a first-grade teacher in Ohio. Faith, family, and drawing—golf courses, jazz… -
opinion
Justice Department Weighs In to Protect Free Speech on Campus
In the face of Orwellian speech codes on campus—and with the help of advocacy groups like Speech First Inc.—college students have been fighting to defend their First Amendment right to free speech. Now, they can count the Justice Department as one of their strongest allies. Earlier this year, the University of Michigan passed a policy… -
news
Unlikely Senate Allies Lee, Booker Use Film to Document the Need for Criminal Justice Reform
A conservative Republican from Utah and a liberal Democrat from New Jersey are unlikely allies in a bipartisan bid to reform the U.S. criminal justice system. “In many instances, federal mandatory [minimum] sentencing laws impose unjust and illogical outcomes, leaving the judge with no discretion at all,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, told The Daily Signal…